Millis school building committee: MSBA funding change unlikely to affect timeline; committee sets outreach schedule and flags urgent building repairs

On Sept. 17, the Town of Millis School Building Committee heard an update from project consultants on the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) review and on the project schedule, and discussed outreach, cost estimates and urgent building needs ahead of town meeting and a December ballot vote.

Project consultant Jeff (project consultant, Tapia) said the MSBA had returned initial questions on the project submittal and the committee expects a final reimbursement value in early October. "We are still on track," Jeff said, adding consultants expect the effective reimbursement to be more than 50 percent if the MSBA approval follows the current timeline.

The committee discussed a recent MSBA decision to raise funding caps for projects approved and funded in 2026. Jeff walked the group through changes the MSBA proposed: raising the building cost cap from $550 per square foot to about $605 per square foot, increasing site allowances (from roughly 10 percent to 12 percent), higher allowances for FF&E and technology, and a new cap on demolition and abatement eligibility at about $42 per square foot. Jeff said those changes could alter grant calculations by roughly $1.1 million for a project of the Town’s size, but he added the Town’s…